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Trading Places
Location: Essex, Vermont Date: May 3, 1982 Story Occasionally, prisoners of a mediate security prison in Essex, Vermont, are taken out for a rehabilitation program to prepare them for their eventual release back into society. On May 3, 1982, Michael Audy, who'd only been working there for a few months, drove six inmates out for one of these programs. "The prisoners were often well-behaved, so I didn't give them any trouble, they never gave me any trouble and I didn't have a problem with them," said Michael. The guards never brought guns with them in case a prisoner took them hostage, so they wouldn't have a weapon. After the first part of the program, Michael had to return a broken tool and took the inmates with him. Suddenly, one of them, who was serving 23 years for armed robbery, pulled a knife from his shoe and put it to Michael's neck. This startled him and he jerked his foot off the accelerator, causing the van to stall. The other inmates yelled at the man to put the knife down, but he didn't listen and made Michael drive on once the van started again. They eventually stopped on a lonely forest road. The inmate ordered one of the others to tie Michael's hands behind his back. Then he secured him to a tree with adhesive tape. He then stole the van and drove off. The others, who refused to go with him, stayed behind with Michael. "There's a code in the penitentiary that says you can't squeal on fellow inmates, and you can't help a guard," said Michael. All the inmates knew it, but didn't expect to keep it after their friend had betrayed them. The one who tied Michael's hands had made the knots very loose, so he was able to get free without too much trouble. Everyone then ran down the road to the nearest house, where Michael called the prison and informed them that there had been an escape. The state police were immediately notified. Meanwhile, as the escapee was speeding along, he lost control of the van and it crashed into a ditch close to Leo and May LaMont's house. May was outside ironing when she saw the van slide off the road. "I knew that if anyone was in the back of the van, then they would be injured," said May. She ran inside the house, told Leo there had been an accident, and called the rescue squad. Gary Bernhoff, a mechanic and volunteer with it, was dispatched to the scene, less then two miles from the garage where he worked. The escapee climbed out of the van and walked towards the LaMonts' house, just as May came back outside and asked him if he was all right. He said he was fine and there was no one else in the van, just as Gary arrived on the scene. He asked to use the phone and May said yes. The escapee didn't know how to use the rotary dial on the LaMonts' phone and asked May to do it for him. As she turned her back to him to do so, he advanced on her with the knife. This caused her to drop the phone and faint from shock. As Leo rushed over to help her, the escapee grabbed him and put the knife to his throat. May quickly regained conciousness, but could not get up because the shock paralyzed her. She smacked the escapee on the leg to try to get him to release Leo, but to no avail. Leo was already very ill with a heart condition and May feared he would have a heart attack. At that moment, Gary came in, and could not believe what he was seeing. Gary told the escapee he would give him what he wanted if he let the LaMonts go. He agreed, released Leo, and led Gary out at knifepoint. Leo had cut his hand on the knife and it was bleeding. As Gary and the escapee drove off in the former's truck, May was finally able to get to her feet. She called the state police and explained the situation. When the police asked for a description of the attacker, they knew it was the escapee and put an APB out for Gary's truck, which May was able to clearly describe. Officer Mike Roach was on patrol when the APB was put out. He saw Gary's truck speed past and followed it at a safe distance. He cold see only one person through the back window, but as he moved to its side, he could see the escapee in the sideview mirror holding the knife to Gary's neck. He spoke into the radio that he found the escapee but couldn't shoot him because he had a hostage. Essex Police Lieutenant Norman Shurman and several officers were dispatched to make a roadblock to stop the truck. Roach was sure that they would soon stop it and apprehend the escapee. However, to everyone's shock, the escapee grabbed the steering wheel and dodged the roadblock. The cars from it joined in the chase, knowing the escapee was desperate. The escapee made Gary get on the Interstate, which was a stroke of luck for the police officers, as it allowed them enough room to surround the truck and box it in. Gary tried to hit the cars next to him as the escapee told him to do, but they managed to swerve and avoid him. The car in front then braked and let the truck hit its bumper, forcing Gary to stop. The police immediately surrounded the truck and directed the escapee to drop the knife. He and Gary were taken out of the truck and restrained, but Gary was released after police determined he was the hostage. The escapee was charged with escape, aggravated kidnapping, and hijacking. He was transferred to a new prison with higher security, where he later committed suicide. Leo died of his heart illness shortly after the incident, and everyone else involved was permanently scarred. Michael quit his job at the prison after several more years, as he never could forget the incident. "I can't even drive along that same road," said Michael, "Because I always hit that same spot." Gary and the now-widowed May have grown close since the incident, with him filling the vacancy left by Leo. Category:1982 Category:Vermont